The trilling tapaculo (''Scytalopus parvirostris'') is a species of
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
in the family
Rhinocryptidae. It is found in
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
and
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
.
Taxonomy and systematics
The trilling tapaculo was previously considered a subspecies of unicolored tapaculo (''Scytalopus unicolor'') but was elevated to species status based on differences in their vocalizations. Though it is
monophyletic
In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic ...
, there are song variations in different parts of its range that suggest that there might be undefined subspecies.
[Krabbe, N. and Schulenberg, T.S. (1997). Species limits and natural history of ''Scytalopus'' tapaculos (Rhinocryptidae), with descriptions of the Ecuadorian taxa, including three new species. Pp. 46–88 in: Remsen (1997)][Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 19 January 2021. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved January 19, 2021][Krabbe, N. and T. S. Schulenberg (2020). Trilling Tapaculo (''Scytalopus parvirostris''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.tritap1.01 retrieved April 30, 2021]
Description
The trilling tapaculo is long. Males weigh and females . Adult males are usually dark gray above and lighter gray below, though sometimes dark gray all over. The flanks and crissum (the area around the
cloaca
In animal anatomy, a cloaca ( ), plural cloacae ( or ), is the posterior orifice that serves as the only opening for the digestive, reproductive, and urinary tracts (if present) of many vertebrate animals. All amphibians, reptiles and birds ...
) are dark reddish brown with dusky bars. The female is similar to the male but paler with a dark brown wash. The juvenile is similar to the female with the addition of a scaly appearance due to yellowish edges to feathers.
[
]
Distribution and habitat
The trilling tapaculo is found on the east slope of the Andes from southern Amazonas
Amazonas may refer to:
Places
* Amazon River, known as ''Amazonas'' in Spanish and Portuguese
*Amazonas (Brazilian state), Brazil
* Amazonas Department, Colombia
* Department of Amazonas, Peru
* Amazonas (Venezuelan state), Venezuela
Other uses
* ...
, Peru, southeastward to western Santa Cruz in Bolivia. It inhabits the undergrowth of humid montane forest
Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucia ...
between the elevations of in Peru. In Bolivia it is found from and locally to .[
]
Behavior
Feeding
The trilling tapaculo forages in dense undergrowth alone or in pairs, on or near the ground. Its diet has not been studied.[
]
Breeding
Until a 2014 publication nothing was known about the trilling tapaculo's breeding biology other than that a juvenile was collected in July.[ In 2009 researchers discovered a nest in Peru. It was a globe with an outer layer mostly of small rootlets lined mostly with fern scales. It was constructed in a cavity in a rotten tree and contained two eggs. The authors monitored incubation but did not specify whether one or both adults incubated. The eggs hatched seven days after discovery and the nestlings disappeared soon after; they were too young to have fledged so the authors concluded that the nest had been predated.]
Vocalization
The trilling tapaculo's song gives it its name. The trill's pace varies geographically, at 21 notes per second in central Per
14 in southern Per
and 20 to 28 in Bolivi
Its scold is similar but shorte
and it also has a single-note cal
[
]
Status
The IUCN has assessed the trilling tapaculo as being of Least Concern. It has a large range, and though its population has not been quantified it is believed to be fairly large and stable.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1270661
trilling tapaculo
Birds of the Peruvian Andes
Birds of the Bolivian Andes
trilling tapaculo
trilling tapaculo
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot